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We propose an experiment based on a Bose-Einstein condensate interferometer for strongly constraining fifth-force models. Additional scalar fields from modified gravity or higher dimensional theories may account for dark energy and the accelerating expansion of the Universe. These theories have led to proposed screening mechanisms to fit within the tight experimental bounds on fifth-force searches. We show that our proposed experiment would greatly improve the existing constraints on these screening models by many orders of magnitude, entirely eliminating the remaining parameter space of the simplest of these models.

The definition of a quantum system requires a Hilbert space, a way to define the dynamics, and an algebra of observables. The structure of the observable algebra is related to a tensor product decomposition of the Hilbert space and represents the composition of the system by subsystems. It has been remarked that the Hamiltonian may determine this tensor product structure. Here we observe that this fact may lead to questionable consequences in some cases, and does extend to the more general background-independent case, where the Hamiltonian is replaced by a Hamiltonian constraint. These observations reinforces the idea that specifying the observables and the way they interplay with the dynamics, is essential to define a quantum theory. We also reflect on the general role that system decomposition has in the quantum theory.

We provide a covariant framework to study singularity-free Lema^itre-Tolman-Bondi spacetimes with effective corrections motivated by loop quantum gravity. We show that, as in general relativity, physically reasonable energy distributions lead to a contraction of the dust shells. However, quantum-gravity effects eventually stop the collapse, the dust smoothly bounces back, and no gravitational singularity is generated. This model is constructed by deforming the Hamiltonian constraint of general relativity with the condition that the hypersurface deformation algebra is closed. In addition, under the gauge transformations generated by the deformed constraints, the structure function of the algebra changes adequately, so that it can be interpreted as the inverse spatial metric. Therefore, the model is completely covariant in the sense that gauge transformations in phase space simply correspond to coordinate changes in spacetime. However, in the construction of the metric, we point out a specific freedom of considering a conformal factor, which we use to obtain a family of singularity-free spacetimes associated to the modified model.

As fundamental scaling limits start to stifle the evolution of complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor transistor technology, interest in potential alternative computing platforms grows. One such alternative is wave-based computation. In this work, we propose a general string diagrammatic formalism for wave-based computation with phase encoding applicable to a wide range of emerging architectures and technologies, including quantum-dot cellular automata, single-electron circuits, spin torque majority gates, and DNA computing. We demonstrate its applicability for design, analysis, and simplification of Boolean logic circuits using the example of spin-wave circuits.

We explain how the so-called Einstein locality is to be understood in the Schrodinger picture of quantum mechanics. This notion is perfectly compatible with the Bell non-locality exhibited by entangled states. Contrary to some beliefs that quantum mechanics is incomplete, it is, in fact, its overcompleteness as exemplified by different pictures of quantum physics, that points to the same underlying reality.

We present a numerical analysis of an Hartle-Hawking state for the early universe, in the deep quantum regime, computed using the covariant Loop Quantum Gravity formalism, in a truncation defined by 16-cell and in a simplified case where the dynamics is defined by SU(2) BF theory. We compute mean geometry, fluctuations and correlations. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that refining the triangulation does not affect the global physical picture substantially.

Quantum theory is often regarded as challenging to learn and teach, with advanced mathematical prerequisites ranging from complex numbers and probability theory to matrix multiplication, vector space algebra and symbolic manipulation within the Hilbert space formalism. It is traditionally considered an advanced undergraduate or graduate-level subject. In this work, we challenge the conventional view by proposing “Quantum Picturalism” as a new approach to teaching the fundamental concepts of quantum theory and computation. We establish the foundations and methodology for an ongoing educational experiment to investigate the question “From what age can students learn quantum theory if taught using a diagrammatic approach?”. We anticipate that the primary benefit of leveraging such a diagrammatic approach, which is conceptually intuitive yet mathematically rigorous, will be eliminating some of the most daunting barriers to teaching and learning this subject while enabling young learners to reason proficiently about high-level problems. We posit that transitioning from symbolic presentations to pictorial ones will increase the appeal of STEM education, attracting more diverse audience.

As a neuroscientist and a theoretical physicist, both working on time, we have decided to open a direct dialogue to examine if the apparent discrepancies regarding the nature of time can be composed.

There is a significant disconnect between linguistic theory and modern NLP practice, which relies heavily on inscrutable black-box architectures. DisCoCirc is a newly proposed model for meaning that aims to bridge this divide, by providing neuro-symbolic models that incorporate linguistic structure. DisCoCirc represents natural language text as a `circuit’ that captures the core semantic information of the text. These circuits can then be interpreted as modular machine learning models. Additionally, DisCoCirc fulfils another major aim of providing an NLP model that can be implemented on near-term quantum computers. In this paper we describe a software pipeline that converts English text to its DisCoCirc representation. The pipeline achieves coverage over a large fragment of the English language. It relies on Combinatory Categorial Grammar (CCG) parses of the input text as well as coreference resolution information. This semantic and syntactic information is used in several steps to convert the text into a simply-typed $lambda$-calculus term, and then into a circuit diagram. This pipeline will enable the application of the DisCoCirc framework to NLP tasks, using both classical and quantum approaches.

A standard approach to quantifying resources is to determine which operations on the resources are freely available, and to deduce the partial order over resources that is induced by the relation of convertibility under the free operations. If the resource of interest is the nonclassicality of the correlations embodied in a quantum state, i.e., entanglement, then the common assumption is that the appropriate choice of free operations is Local Operations and Classical Communication (LOCC). We here advocate for the study of a different choice of free operations, namely, Local Operations and Shared Randomness (LOSR), and demonstrate its utility in understanding the interplay between the entanglement of states and the nonlocality of the correlations in Bell experiments. Specifically, we show that the LOSR paradigm (i) provides a resolution of the anomalies of nonlocality, wherein partially entangled states exhibit more nonlocality than maximally entangled states, (ii) entails new notions of genuine multipartite entanglement and nonlocality that are free of the pathological features of the conventional notions, and (iii) makes possible a resource-theoretic account of the self-testing of entangled states which generalizes and simplifies prior results. Along the way, we derive some fundamental results concerning the necessary and sufficient conditions for convertibility between pure entangled states under LOSR and highlight some of their consequences, such as the impossibility of catalysis for bipartite pure states. The resource-theoretic perspective also clarifies why it is neither surprising nor problematic that there are mixed entangled states which do not violate any Bell inequality. Our results motivate the study of LOSR-entanglement as a new branch of entanglement theory.